Not the book I remember enjoying as a child. This is.... not great now. It doesn't hold up well over the years, nor does it hold up well to an adult reader. ( )

I read My Family and Other Animals as part of the January CalendarCAT. It has been on the Kindle for a long time as part of a compendium of all three books. But, I'm counting them one at a time.

I had seen the PBS series about the Durrells and Corfu and enjoyed it. Durrell's memoir is fun: full of the curiosity and free spirit of the young boy he was and, it seemed, probably still was in his old age. I don't quite understand the propensity to capture and cage wild animals but I suppose that is how naturalists learn. Another interesting tidbit came via Wikipedia: Durrell's brother was well-known novelist Lawrence Durrell who was married and brought his wife with him to Corfu. Gerald fails to mention Nancy. Meanwhile, in his own fictional version, Durrell only mentions brother Leslie, ignoring Gerald and his mother and sister. I could only think, "Recollections may vary."

It was fun and I will eventually read the other two. ( )

A great childhood. A good read. ( )

Descriptive power, adventurousness, enthusiasm, and humour are Durrell’s great strengths, and they give this book the charm and interest that has made it so well loved for decades. The many descriptions of the creatures and plants of Corfu here include ascribing emotions or qualities to them. As such, they are often fanciful but at the same time knowledgeable, and so they “animate” the account. Once set, this sense and tone of animation feels appropriate, and so when the young Durrell’s tutor leads us to his imaginative mother and the “talking flowers” she describes (chapter 24), this fits pleasingly in. As in Don Quixote, or Schweijk, a bunch of stories or anecdotes from third parties are thrown in and doubtless embellished. Some land well, others less so. The author presumably can’t resist, whether from doubt that he may ever find another outlet for these exploits or from sheer raconteurial gusto. Among many memorable scenes, the portrait of the picnic, siesta, cooking fire, and moonlit return from the excursion to the Lake of Liliies would make anyone yearn for such an idyllic and wholesome setting. ( )

The humor here is incredibly dated and repetitive. ( )